Travel blogging looks easy. All you apparently need is a PC, an Internet connection and an opinion. But it really isn’t. Coming up with interesting new material every day is actually hard work.
Keeping a good travel blog? That’s even more difficult.
But two new blogs have managed to pull it off. One is Travels with Jane, written by Miami Herald travel editor Jane Wooldridge. An early version of the Web journal offered the kind of reflections you would expect from a travel writer on assignment (the blog started with a trip to Australia, with notes about jet lag and interesting places to go).
Then things got really interesting. Earlier this month, Wooldridge began blogging about a solo roadtrip from Miami to Seattle in “search of the real America.” The kicker? Readers get to vote on her next destination. As a bonus, we also get to find out whether a woman can travel safely in the U.S. when she’s on a tight budget, according to the blog.
Although I’ve enjoyed reading about Wooldridge’s adventures, the blog entries that I like best (so far) are from her drive through Alabama. She’s made stops in Talladega, Birmingham and Scottsboro — home of the famed Unclaimed Baggage Center — that are definitely worth checking out. Reading about her adventures reminded me of the summer of 1989 when I interned at the Birmingham News and spent a lot of time exploring Alabama.
Another new blog worth bookmarking is Wendy Perrin’s Perrin Post on Concierge.com. Perrin is Condé Nast Traveler’s consumer news editor — technically, she’s the competition — but I have to be honest, I find her new blog irresistible.
Sure, she has terrific insights into the day’s travel news. And like any good reporter, she has great sources. (And, like Wooldridge, I’ve known her for a long time). But that isn’t why I keep clicking on Perrin Post. No, it’s the cute pictures of her kids, Charlie and Doug.
Every travel blog should have pictures of cute kids. That’s my rule, too.
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